Pray the Word with David Platt is a resource from Radical.net.

Revelation chapter 20 verse 4.

Also, I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded

for the testimony of Jesus and for the Word of God.

And those who had not worshipped the beast or its image

had not received its mark on their forehands or their hands.

This is another one of those verses, many in Revelation,

where we could talk a lot about this symbolism and the imagery

in what this or that means and even different thoughts

on what this or that might mean based on different interpretations

of the book of Revelation.

But in the end, don't miss the big picture here.

This is a picture of those who have been beheaded,

who have been martyred for the gospel,

for the testimony of Jesus and the Word of God.

This is a picture of people who have given their lives,

laid them down for claiming the gospel

and the Word of God.

And if not worshipped the beast or its image,

not received its mark on their forehands or their hands,

whatever that means, it's clear that they trusted in God,

they held fast a faith in Jesus even when it was costly,

...